Speed Race

Speed Race is a to-down racing game produced by Taito Corporation in 1974 under their Taitronics label. The game is notable as an early video game racing game, establishing a format and a franchise which would persist for several decades. It features the first use of an endless world through an early method of scrolling graphics.

Players control the game via a steering wheel, an acceleration pedal, and a gear shift to get the most points by continuously driving along the road within the time limit. Several features of the game are not portrayed by the video screen but are instead peripheral to the screen on the cabinet. Scores for the first and second players are shown via a set of LED displays as well as the time left remaining in the round. In the upright and deluxe versions of the game, there is also a speedometer tracking the player's trajectory.

The game was licensed to Midway Mfg in 1975 and released as Wheels in the US where it became a big success in the early video game market. Wheels features the addition of the score and the time being integrated into the video display at the top of the screen as well as a change of the gear shift to a lever which controlled the maximum acceleration of the car.